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CURRICULUM VITAE


SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018     Invisible Listeners: Signature Gallery Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA
2017     Within the im/balance, The Center for the Arts of Greater Manassas & Prince William County, VA
2017     Some Things I Can’t Explain, ArtSpace Herndon, Herndon, VA
2016     Some Things I Can’t Explain, Craddock-Terry Gallery, Lynchburg, VA
2014     Then you weren’t, Workhouse Art Center, Lorton VA
2014     Some Things I Can’t Explain, MFA Thesis Show, George Mason University (catalog)
2013     Subversion, Greenbelt Community Art Center, Greenbelt MD

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024     Artomatic 2024, Washington DC

2023     20TH Julia Margaret Cameron: Women Photographers, Barcelona, Spain

2021     Undertow, Schiedam Netherlands 

2018     EMERGE: Center Gallery, Wichita, KA
2018     ASPIRE, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH (catalog) 

2016     Berlin Foto Biennale 2016: Palazzo Italia, Berlin

2014     Contemporary Talent 2012, François Schneider Foundation, Wattwiller France

2014     Dealing with Trauma through Art Making, Holy Family University, Philadelphia, PA

2014     Positive ID: Bodies & Subjectivities in Photography: NOVA-Woodbridge, Woodbridge, VA
2014     Artifex: GMU Graduate Student Exhibit: Capital One Corp. Art Program, Richmond, VA
2014     2nd Annual GMU MFA Exhibit: GMU School of Art, VA (catalog)

2013     Hickok Cole: WPA, Washington, DC

2013     Common Pulse Festival: Intersecting Abilities, Durham Art Gallery, Ontario, Canada
2013     ACADEMY 2013: Annual MFA / BFA Invitational, CONNORSMITH, Washington DC
2013     EMERGE: Center Gallery, Wichita, KA
2013     Humans Being II: Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL (catalog)
2013     Body and Brain: Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL (catalog)
2013     1st Annual GMU MFA Exhibit: GMU School of Art, VA (catalog) 

2012     Artomatic 2012, Crystal City, VA
2012     The Surrealist Influence on Contemporary Photography, Austin, TX
2012     Hickok Cole: WPA, Washington, DC 

2011      Graduate Student Exhibition: GMU School of Art, VA 

2004    All Senior Show: Corcoran College of Art and Design, DC
2004    Thesis Exhibition: Corcoran College of Art and Design, DC
2004    Black Milk: Marvelli Gallery, NYC
2004    Artomatic 2004, Washington DC

JURIED EXHIBITIONS

2016     The Mary B. Howard Artist Member Exhibition: Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA 

2015     Jax Exhibition: Jacksonville Center for the Arts. Floyd, VA
2015     Fresh! | Young Collectors Show: JanKossen Contemporary, New York, NY
2015     Art Educators’ Exhibition: In Practice: Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA
2015     EMULSION 2015: Gallery OonH, Washington DC
2015     Voices: An Artist’s Perspective: National Association of Women Artists, NYC (catalog) 

2014     Post-Photography: Beyond the Print: Target Gallery, Torpedo Factory, Alexandria VA
2014     WATERGIRL, Artzibs Gallery, Athens, OH
2014     8th annual MASTERPIECES: Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH (catalog)
2014     Of Memory, Bone and Myth V, Rourke Art Museum, Moorhead, MN
2014     PhotoSpiva, Spiva Center for the Arts, Joplin, MO
2014     Significant Details, Verizon Gallery, Annandale VA
2014     Take Flight, The Kiernan Gallery, Lexington, VA (catalog)
2014     2nd Annual MFA/MA Juried Show, Nelson Gallery, Lexington, VA 

2013     CHOICE, Northern California Women’s Caucus for Art, San Francisco, CA
2013     Westmaryginiasylvanington: Regional Juried Exhibition, Frederick, MD
2013     7th annual MASTERPIECES: Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH (catalog)
2013     PHOTO/VIDEO 13: Juried Mid-Atlantic Exhibition: Artisphere, Arlington, VA
2013     San Francisco Int’l Photo Exhibition: Gallery Photographica, San Francisco, CA (catalog)
2013     Open Water!: The Kiernan Gallery, Lexington, VA (catalog)
2013     Mysterious Visions: Dreams, Fantasies & Mirages: PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
2013     Fine Art Photography Competition 2013: ArtSpace Herndon, Herndon, VA
2013     8th Photographic Image Biennial Exhibition: Wellington B. Gray Gallery, Greenville, NC (catalog)

2012     The National Juried Photography Exhibit: The Delaplaine, Frederick, MD
2012     International Juried Photography Exhibition 2012: 12 12 Gallery, Richmond, VA
2012     Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series: International Visions Gallery, Washington, DC
2012     Still Life: The Art of Arrangement: The Kiernan Gallery, Lexington, VA (catalog)
2012     Love, Hate & Everything In Between: StoneCrop Gallery, Ogunquit, ME
2012     The Art of Photography Show 2012, San Diego, CA, (catalog)
2012     5th annual Cork Street Open Exhibition, London, England (catalog)
2012     6th annual MASTERPIECES: Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH (catalog)
2012     Inaugural Dublin Biennial, Dublin, Ireland (catalog)
2012     Art Comes Alive, Cincinnati, OH (catalog)
2012     1st Annual Radford University Photography Exhibition, Radford, VA
2012     Imagination: A Smith Gallery, Austin, TX

2011     Distilled, Abstract Art: Lana Santorelli Gallery, NJ

COLLECTIONS

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC
François Schneider Foundation
Radford University Museum, Radford VA

AWARDS & HONORS

2021     Series Winner, 19th edition Julia Margaret Cameron Award

2020     Honorable Mention, International Photography Awards (IPA) 

2017     Honorable Mention, International Photography Awards (IPA)

2016     Honorable Mention, International Photography Awards (IPA)
2016     Honorable Mention, Prix de la Photographie (Px3) 

2015     Finalist, 8th edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award
2015     Honorable Mention, Jax Exhibition
2015     Honorable Mention, Fine Art Photography Awards (FAPA)
2015     Semi-Finalist, The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards
2015     2nd Place, EMULSION 2015 

2014     Honorable Mention, International Photography Awards (IPA)
2014     Honorable Mention, Prix de la Photographie (Px3)
2014     Best in Show, WATERGIRL, Artzibs Gallery
2014     Academic and Artistic Excellence, George Mason University

2013     Grand Prix Juror Award of Merit, International Fine Art Photography Competition
2013     Contemporary Talent 2012, Photography Category, François Schneider Foundation
2013     Gold Medal Award San Francisco International Photography Exhibition
2013     2nd Place, Fine Art Photography Competition 2013
2013     Juror’s Choice Award, Open Water!
2013     Leadership Award, ODIME 2013 Vision Awards
2013     EMERGE Fellowship Award, 2013 Midwest Photo Emerge

2012     First Place, 1st Annual Radford Photography Exhibition
2012     Purchase Award, Art Comes Alive

PUBLICATIONS

2014    International Photography Annual 2, Exhibition in Print, Manifest Gallery
2013    So to Speak, A Feminist Journal of Language and Art, Spring

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2014 – 2024     Adjunct Professor: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

2018                 Juror: 2018 Fine Art Photography Exhibition, ArtSpace, Herndon, VA
2017                  Professional Development Workshop, ArtSpace, Herndon, VA
2016 – 2019     Visual Arts Committee Member, ArtSpace, Herndon, VA
2016                 Juror: 2016 Fine Art Photography Exhibition, ArtSpace, Herndon, VA
2015 – 2016     Auction Coordinator: WPA
2015                 Artist Talk: Wesleyan Art Department, Buckhannon WV
2015                 Juror: 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Fairfax, VA
2012 – 2014     Graduate Lecture: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

SCHOLASTIC LEADERSHIP

2014      Organizer, 2nd Annual GMU MFA Exhibition
2013      Organizer, Open Studios SOA MFA: Graduate Artifex
2013      Organizer, 1st Annual GMU MFA Exhibition
2012      Organizer, 1st For/By Student Exhibition
2013 – 2014       President, SOA MFA: Graduate Artifex
2012 – 2013       Founder & President, SOA MFA: Graduate Artifex

EDUCATION

2014     MFA Art and Visual Technology School of Art George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
2004    BFA Photography Corcoran College of Art + Design Washington DC
1996     AA Humanities, Foreign Languages College of the Redwoods Eureka, CA


HI I'M RAHSHIA

& My Studio is Underwater.

And I knew it the first time I dove in over a decade ago. 

I discovered the power of underwater photography, honing my skills to create a refuge for complex emotions.

My photos have been exhibited and collected all over the world—unraveling the depths of desires and feelings beneath the surface.

I'm excited to share Underwater Somatic Portraiture—an experience offering freedom from gravity, providing space for expression, nurturing, feeling, freedom, and healing.

DIVE INTO My Personal Journey

STUDIO

Potomac Falls, VA By Appointment Only  

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